Chapter 11
Today was the day that the East High senior class of 2008 would be graduating.
Taylor was woken by some unknown person shaking her awake.
"Come on Tay, there's someone really important waiting for you downstairs," Taylor heard Hailey.
"I'll go down later," Taylor yawned.
"What you don't want to see your parents, after we spent the entire weekend trying to get here in time for you graduation," a male voice said.
Taylor recognised the voice, her sleep filled brain had a hard time putting a face to the voice. Until….
"Daddy!" Taylor squeaked as she jumped out of bed and into her father's waiting arms.
Joseph laughed as he hugged his youngest daughter tightly.
"Missed you too baby girl," Joe said.
Taylor smiled, "I missed you a lot Dad. You missed prom night."
"I know baby but we actually picked up a client on Friday, for a last minute trial on Saturday. A colleague recommended us. We wanted to be here," Joe explained.
"It's okay, I understand work is important," Taylor smiled.
"Not as important as our girls," a female voice said from behind them.
Taylor smiled, "Mum!"
Georgia laughed, "so your father gets 'Daddy' and I get 'Mum'?"
Taylor laughed, "I missed you Mummy," she smiled as she hugged her mother.
"That's better. I missed you too princess," Georgia smiled hugging her daughter back.
"Now are you going to show us your prom pictures?" Joe asked.
"Didn't Hailey send them to you?" Taylor asked.
"Of course she did but we want to look at them with you," Georgia smiled.
Taylor grinned and grabbed her laptop, her parents sat on either side of her on the bed and Hailey sat beside Georgia.
Taylor pulled up the pictures from the prom, the ones that Hailey took throughout the day and night plus those taken at the prom.
The four sat there for an hour looking through the photos and commenting on them.
"Oh baby you looked gorgeous," Georgia smiled as she squeezed Taylor's hand.
"Chad cleaned up good too," Joe commented.
"He looked dashingly handsome," Taylor agreed.
"You made the perfect pair," Hailey complimented.
Taylor smiled gratefully.
Joe looked at the clock on Taylor's side table, "well we better get ready, gotta be at the school in an hour."
Taylor gasped, "okay, everyone out, I have to get ready!"
Taylor's family laughed but left the room.
Taylor had a shower and got ready, her phone started ringing as she headed downstairs to have breakfast with her family.
"Hey," she answered.
"Hey, ready to leave East High?" Chad asked.
"I'm not actually so sure," Taylor responded.
"You're ready to leave just not ready to say goodbye to everyone," Chad said.
Taylor laughed, "yeah. Except it's not really goodbye we can still all catch up and besides we have the party at Troy's after graduation."
"This is very true," Chad agreed.
"Taylor come on, you need to eat before you graduate!" Georgia shouted from the kitchen.
Taylor sighed, "I'll see you soon. I love you."
"I love you too. I'll see you soon," Chad smiled.
Taylor hung up and walked into the kitchen for her last family breakfast as a high school senior.
They arrived at the school with ten minutes to spare before the graduation celebration began.
Taylor went and found her friends while her family went to take their seats with Chad's parents.
"Hey Tay, you ready?" Gabriella asked as the two hugged.
"Hey Gabi, I suppose so. How about you Miss Valedictorian?" Taylor teased.
"Yeah I guess. You had a hand in me getting Valedictorian didn't you," Gabriella sighed.
"Gabi how on Earth would I manage that?" Taylor questioned.
"You purposely got 96's didn't you," Gabriella accused.
"Gabi you changed all of us when you came to East High. It's partly my way of thanking you. If you hadn't have come to East High Chad and I probably wouldn't be together now. I can't thank you enough for that. Take it as a good thing, don't think of it as a negative," Taylor explained her motives.
"Tay you would've been together whether I was here or not," Gabriella tried, not willing to accept full responsibility.
"Taylor's right, if it weren't for you Gabi we probably wouldn't have gotten together," Chad said as he wrapped his arms around Taylor from behind.
"I doubt that," Gabriella tried again.
"Sorry to disappoint you Gabi, they hated each other before you helped bring them together. I would have been the star basketball player with no idea that he enjoyed singing if not for you. Chad would've been my right hand man who tormented Taylor if he ever acknowledged her. Taylor would have been the brainiac who thought that Chad was just another dumb jock. You changed us all," Troy explained.
"I was just a girl in the back trying to get my work noticed," Kelsi added as she joined them, along with Ryan, Jason, Martha, and Zeke.
"We all changed because of you Gabi, you let us all come out of our shells and be the real people that we are rather than what everyone else wanted us to be," Zeke agreed.
Chad took Taylor's hand and led her away from the group as they continued talking about the things that Gabriella had done for all of them.
"So after graduation do you want to go out to dinner?" Chad asked.
Taylor smiled, "hunny we have a party to attend after graduation."
"It'll be over by 6pm we can out after that, dinner and movie?" Chad negotiated.
"Okay sounds good," Taylor smiled.
The seniors were all called together to make a procession to their seats.
Principal Matsui gave his opening speech and then the seniors were called one by one to receive their diplomas. All except for Troy Bolton.
After the seniors were once again seated Principal Matsui presented Gabriella with her Valedictorian medal and invited her to give a speech.
"I am honoured to have received this commendation. I would like to thank the teachers and staff of East High for helping me to get here. I would also like to thank my friends and peers for the support in getting me here. Thank you East High," Gabriella said gratefully.
Principal Matsui then announced that Troy Bolton had been chosen by the senior class to represent them in a final farewell speech to the school on behalf of them.
Troy took the stage, "East High is a place where teachers encouraged us to break the status quo, to define ourselves as we choose. Where a jock can cook up a mean creme brulee. Where a brainiac can break down on a dancefloor. It's a place where one person, if it's the right person, changes us all. East High is having friends that we'll keep for the rest of our lives. And I guess that means that we really are all in this together. Cause once a wildcat, always a wildcat. Thank you."
Everyone cheered for Troy as he was handed his diploma.
They had done it, they had graduated.
Chad pulled Taylor into his arms and spun her around as they laughed, it had happened, all the studying that Taylor had forced him to do had paid off and now they were going off to college.
Ms Darbus had arranged for the seniors to put on one more dance performance at their graduation before they left East High.
So as the band began to play the seniors moved into their routine.
The crowd was eating up their performance, absolutely loving it.
Chad and Taylor began their part of the routine and sung together in perfect harmony.
"Now we've finally realized, who we are it just took some time. We had to live and to learn, to see the truth!" Chad and Taylor sung, "Nothing's ever impossible, into the future we all free fall."
After the performance the seniors all took their final bow to the cheering and applause from the watching crowd.
The seniors all headed in different directions to find their families and head to the Bolton's home for the after party.
Taylor and Chad walked over to the stage where they saw their families waiting for them.
"That was amazing Tay," Hailey said as she pulled her sister into a tight hug.
"Thanks Hails," Taylor said returning her hug.
"You were both marvelous," Andrea said as she hugged her son.
"We couldn't be prouder of all that you have both accomplished in the last few years," Joseph said.
"Both of your futures are looking brighter," John agreed.
"Together we can do anything," Chad stated as he held onto Taylor's hand.
"Together we can do everything," Taylor amended as she squeezed Chad's hand.
Their parents pulled them into a group hug, with Hailey as well.
The families then decided to go to the Bolton's for the party.
Unlike the party after the championship game weeks ago Taylor and Chad were enjoying themselves, they weren't worrying about the future having been convinced by one another that they had a future together and that the time they would have to spend apart during the next few years would not be for nothing. They would spend as much time together as possible while they were in college. Chad would finish college in three years, Taylor in four. Their plan was to get through three years only seeing each other in person once a month then if Chad got drafted to the NBA he would choose a California team to be closer to Taylor. Then they would get a house together and after Taylor finished college they would decide what to do next.
Taylor had talked their plan over with her Mum and Chad's Mum and they both agreed that it was a good plan, they would still be able to be together they would just have to wait a while. It would be the ultimate test to their relationship and allow both of them to see if the relationship was still what they wanted.
Taylor and Chad were once again sitting on the swings.
"I love you Tay and I know that we're going to get through the next three years whatever it takes. I know that I don't want to have a life without you," Chad said as Taylor slowed her swing down, wanting to talk to Chad herself.
"I love you too Chad and we'll make it through this, I know that we will. Together we can do anything and everything remember," Taylor smiled.
"That's my point Tay, together we're stronger. I don't want to be without you. That's why," Chad began as he stood up and stood in front of Taylor holding her hand, "Taylor McKessie will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
A/N: Well that's the end for 'Sparks Fly' but I will be writing three more stories in this universe. The first two will be prequels to this story, High School Musical 2 then High School Musical, obviously with different names. Following that I will be writing a sequel to this story and maybe more after that. I love this universe and can't wait to write more for it. I hope that you all love it too. Look out for the first prequel coming either tomorrow or the following day. It will be called 'One Thing' :-) You'll have to wait a while to find out what happens next ;-) I promise to try and get the two prequels done over the next few weeks so that you won't have to wait too long :-)